Sunday, November 12, 2023

the login and password meltdown

Yesterday was mostly relaxing and I didn't do much. Got my laundry done and the clean dishes in the dishwasher put away is about it. I finalized my grocery order with a few add-ons. I video chatted with dd for a little bit in the morning. Her dh had a day planned for her, but she didn't know what, haha.

They went up to a town about an hour from them. Did a Farmers Market and a little gift store type shopping. Then he told her they had an appointment somewhere at 3pm. She messaged me when they got there: it was a "cat cafe" LOL. They went back home to get ready to go out to dinner and when they got home there was a houseful of people with a surprise birthday party for her. Her dh did good! There was catered mexican food and one of her friends made her a nice birthday cake.

Why do people not write down their various website logins and passwords? My mom used to do this, too. Her "reason" was in case someone broke into her house, they'd steal her password list...so she wrote them down on little slips of paper, that were all paper clipped together, in her desk drawer. BUT, 90% of them had no indication of what website they were for....LOL. 

My dh just doesn't write them down at all. Apparently expect me to, which I did years ago and I try to update it, but ya...of course if he changes his password he never tells me and if he signs up for something new he doesn't tell me. When I switched him over to the new browser I was able to import all is favorites but he would still have to get re-signed in to his websites he uses regularly. I did that (from the list I have), but I didn't realize he had apparently gotten a twitter account about 6 months ago. He doesn't post on it, but it allows him to view things that his buddies put links to on the message board forum he participates in. 

So, of course he had no idea of his password, let alone what his user name even was. The "forgot password" function was a bit useless, LOL. You needed your email (which at least that he knew- haha) but then it asked for your user name. No clue. I'm like you're the one who set it up - how do you not know? I said just open Firefox back up (it's all still there, it just works slow, right?) and get it from that. He was starting to have a meltdown, literally.  He said I tried that! and he starts to show me that by opening firefox, and it was being slow to load (maybe because he already had another browser open too?). He wouldn't even give it 3 seconds before he's closing it back down. Meltdown ensues. I said let me sit down at your computer a few minutes, I'm sure I can figure it out. Complete meltdown ensues, so I just walked away and went to my desk to google how to get your user name and password, from my computer. Looks like no way, unless you know your user name. He continues to throw a fit, saying this is stupid, blah blah. I said you are supposed to write down your login and passwords. How hard is that? Keep a piece of paper or notebook in your desk. He said lets the computer "save" them. I said and then what happens when your computer crashes, as every computer will at some point? Then he tried to blame me! because I changed the browser (which is working perfectly, by the way).

As I went back downstairs he got up to go to the bathroom, so I sat down. Opened up Firefox and clicked on his twitter link, both of which opened up within seconds. He was already logged into Twitter on Firefox. There was his username on the bottom corner. Closed Firefox, opened Twitter in Edge, did forgot password, put in his email and user name and reset the password. He wasn't even back from the bathroom yet. When he got back I just said it's working now and went and took a nap. 

So again, why is it that hard to keep a list of your logins and passwords? I just don't get it. Apparently, it's a common thing, because when I was googling how to retrieve your Twitter user name/password, there were tons of posts asking this, especially in Reddit.

I have this "master" list of his logins/passwords at my desk. Today I am going to take it down to him and hand it over and say I'm retiring from being your login and password keeper. Here's your list. You are in charge of it now. I've got enough to keep track of with my own (tons, because I do so much online shopping), not to mention a list to keep track of for my jobs.

My cute password keeper:



5 comments:

  1. Stephen Fry is a real techy as well as everything else!
    He once said - if you're going to be hacked I can tell you the hacker will not be calling round to your house and rummaging through your bureau in search of your passwords written down; he will hack you by using a few clicks on his own computer in the comfort of his own home.
    So I recommend that you write down all your passwords in your own little notebook.

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  2. Awww good on DSIL! Lovely way to celebrate a birthday. DH sounds just like my boss, he has huge meltdowns for technology related issues- smh. My boss had one last Monday! Enjoy your password keeping retirement ;)

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  3. I have to admit, I never wrote down passwords because I could remember them and only had about ten to remember. Then, I went through menopause and about the same time acquired more passwords. Well, I about had a breakdown when computer fried itself and burned.
    I had a little book just before that for passwords and could not find it. So, now I try to write them down all in one place, not randomly on pieces of paper.
    I have no one to help me, so have to do it myself when I cannot remember or find a password.
    Tommy no longer has a computer and will not use my laptop. I have no idea why.
    One time, I helped an attorney set up his computer. Every morning for two weeks, his secretary called me wanting his password for several places. She worried I could now get into his information. Well, if I had given her the password once, I would never have remembered it. But, after two weeks, that password was permanently in my brain.
    For some reason, my password would never work for something, forgot what. Every day, I had to make a new password. They were all written in a list as I made a new one. It was very frustrating.
    However, I never have a meltdown. Practical Parsimony

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  4. I have a master document in Word where I write all this stuff down - and have that password protected. But I did print off a copy and put it in my "Life in Motion" file (i.e. the one my kids need to look at if I suddenly pop my clogs). Anything really important I have in my phone as a disguised contact. For instance my UK credit cards (which I pretty much don't use unless I'm in the UK) I have as Cathy C (credit card) and Cathy D (debit card). Works for me, but I admit having to have all these passwords is frustrating. Glad you got it all worked out for him though. Oh and what a lovely surprise your SIL pulled off - that was very sweet of him!

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    Replies
    1. when I (or we) go on a trip, it seems I have invariably needed a password for something, so I snap pictures of the password pages in my notebook, with my phone, and refer to the pictures, if I need to retrieve a password.

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